{"id":2650593,"date":"2026-08-27T14:49:02","date_gmt":"2026-08-27T18:49:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/murders-were-a-choice-prosecutors-in-closing-arguments-of-lindsay-clancy-trial\/"},"modified":"2026-08-27T14:56:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-27T18:56:08","slug":"murders-were-a-choice-prosecutors-in-closing-arguments-of-lindsay-clancy-trial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/murders-were-a-choice-prosecutors-in-closing-arguments-of-lindsay-clancy-trial\/","title":{"rendered":"Murders were &#8216;a choice&#8217;: Prosecutors in closing arguments of Lindsay Clancy trial"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fmurders-were-a-choice-prosecutors-in-closing-arguments-of-lindsay-clancy-trial%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2650593&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Closing arguments concluded in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial at Plymouth Superior Court after five weeks of testimony. Clancy, a former nurse, admits too killing her three children in January 2023 but claims she was in a psychotic state and therefore not criminally responsible. Her defense argued that postpartum psychosis,alongside poorly managed medication,impaired her mental health at the time,emphasizing expert testimonies indicating she was in a psychotic state during the murders and highlighting her subsequent suicide attempt. They contested evidence such as the elastic bands used to strangle her children and searches made before the killings, suggesting thes do not prove premeditation.<\/p>\n<p>Prosecutors countered that Clancy&#8217;s actions demonstrated rational planning, noting her detailed research on her husband&#8217;s whereabouts and medication pickup, implying she was mentally competent and made purposeful choices. The prosecution emphasized that her ability to make phone calls and control her actions contradicted the claim of being in a psychotic state, and pointed out she did not disclose hallucinations or hazardous thoughts to healthcare providers. They suggested her motive was to end her depression, with her children being her protective factor, and characterized the killings as a conscious decision rather than the result of psychosis.The jury will now determine her criminal duty based on the closing arguments.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Closing arguments took place in the Lindsay Clancy case Thursday, bringing an end to a weekslong trial in which jurors will now determine whether the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/massachusetts\/\">Massachusetts<\/a> mother is criminally responsible for <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/section\/news\/crime\/\">murdering<\/a> her three young children. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The former labor and delivery nurse admits she killed her children in January 2023 but argues she is not responsible because of claims she was in a psychotic state. <\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4702905\/closing-argument-lindsay-clancy-trial-strangling-puppet-murder-was-choice\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Closing arguments conclude in Lindsay Clancy trial as prosecutors argue murders were \u2018a choice\u2019<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/crime\/4702429\/coast-guard-torches-suspected-drug-boat-carrying-cocaine-to-us\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Coast Guard torches suspected drug boat carrying cocaine to US<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4702144\/judge-doj-request-steve-bannon-conviction\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Judge declines DOJ request to toss Bannon\u2019s contempt of Congress conviction<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The prosecution and the defense offered closing arguments to the jury at Plymouth Superior Court, bringing an end to the murder trial after five weeks of testimony from around 80 witnesses. At times, Clancy was stoic, looking straight ahead. At other times, she was visibly emotional, crying and wiping her eyes. <\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-15\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<h2 id=\"h-the-defense-s-position\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">The defense\u2019s position<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Clancy\u2019s defense, led by attorney Kevin Reddington, argued she should not be criminally liable because of assertions that the killings were brought on by postpartum psychosis, a severe mental health condition that was poorly managed by doctors who prescribed her over a dozen medications with possibly dangerous side effects. He emphasized the words of Dr. Phillip Resnick, who testified that Clancy was in a state of psychosis at the time of the murders, \u201ctimes three.\u201d He further cited one of the prosecution\u2019s own witnesses, forensic psychologist Kirk Heilbrun, a prosecution witness, who told the jury, \u201cit\u2019s possible either way,\u201d according to Reddington. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThat\u2019s not proof beyond a reasonable doubt,\u201d the attorney said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He also emphasized Clancy\u2019s suicide attempt, which she said she sought to carry out after killing her children, arguing testimony proved \u201cthat this was a legitimate, dreadful, horrific suicide attempt.\u201d  <\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-16\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBecause of the damn medicine and the lousy medical care that she got,\u201d Reddington said, \u201cthis young lady did nothing wrong in her life. \u2026 She was a nurse, a daughter, a wife, and a darn good mother.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Reddington said handwritten notes from Clancy proved the devolution of her mental state in the fall and winter of 2022. By December, her journal was \u201cchicken scratches because her mind is gone,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Reddington disputed the prosecution\u2019s take on the elastic workout bands Clancy used to strangle her children. The attorney said Patrick testified that when he found the children, the elastic bands were tied in knots around their necks, and he struggled to untie them. The defense has said Patrick did not testify that there were knots, arguing it is an indicator she held the elastic bands around her children\u2019s necks for minutes as they died.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-17\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Reddington also argued searches for how long it would take for her husband to pick up takeout and medicine prior to the killings were not evidence of guilt or premeditation, as the prosecution has argued. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cShe didn\u2019t want him out of the house long. She was in distress,\u201d he said. \u201cShe wanted him home to help with the bathing, to help with the kids, to help putting them to bed. How long is he going to be gone? She Googles it. Is that something that is so nefarious?\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">Lindsay Clancy listens to testimony during her murder trial in Plymouth Superior Court, on Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026 in Plymouth, Mass.  (Greg Derr  \/The Patriot Ledger via AP, Pool)<\/p>\n<p>&#8221; data-large-file=&#8221;https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2026\/08\/localimages\/AP26238583349951.jpg?w=696&#8243; &#8220;https:><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Lindsay Clancy listens to testimony during her murder trial in Plymouth Superior Court, on Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026, in Plymouth, Mass. (Greg Derr \/The Patriot Ledger via AP, Pool)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 id=\"h-the-prosecution-s-side\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">The prosecution\u2019s side<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Prosecutor Jennifer Sprague did not dispute that Clancy had <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/naomi-osaka-representing-japan-knocked-from-olympics-in-stunning-upset\/\" title=\"Naomi Osaka, Representing Japan, Knocked From Olympics In Stunning Upset\u00a0\">mental health struggles<\/a> and that she tried to commit suicide. She emphasized the importance of determining what her mental state was on the night of Jan. 24, 2023. <\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-25\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-4\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sprague argued that Clancy spoke with her then-husband on the phone after she strangled her children. Clancy has said the psychosis began after the call and that she killed them after speaking with her then-husband, giving her around 20 minutes to murder them and carry out her own suicide attempt.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Given Clancy\u2019s own testimony and the timeline of the night, she would have had to begin immediately killing her children after she made a phone call to Patrick that night, the prosecutor argued. That wouldn\u2019t have left time for the psychotic, hallucinatory state to begin and for the voices in Clancy\u2019s head to kick in and tell her to kill the children and carry out the suicide attempt, as the defense team has contended, Sprague said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBecause if she\u2019s already killed the kids because of a voice \u2026 and she\u2019s like a puppet, then she can\u2019t get a call and miss it and then call the person back and have a conversation and then hang up,\u201d Sprague said.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-26\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-5\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cA puppet can\u2019t do those things,\u201d she said. \u201cThose are decisions and choices and actions that she\u2019s controlling. So she has to explain away the phone call because her behavior and her ability to have the phone call don\u2019t make sense if she\u2019s being compelled by a voice.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sprague also referenced the rubber bands Clancy used to strangle the children. She told the jury it was not possible for Clancy to leave the exercise bands used without the bands relaxing around their throats, arguing that meant she held them around her children\u2019s necks for minutes as they died.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYou have to pull them, and you know they weren\u2019t knotted \u2014 Patrick never testified that they were knotted,\u201d Sprague said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sprague said the level of planning Clancy did on the night of the killings implicated her as being in a state of rational thought. She looked up to see how long it would take her ex-husband to get to the restaurant and back, and called CVS to ensure the medication she wanted Patrick to pick up before coming home was in stock to ensure she had enough time to execute the killings before he got back, Sprague argued. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cShe needed to know not generally, but exactly \u2018How much time will I have?&#8217;\u201d Sprague said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sprague emphasized that Clancy was \u201ca functioning mom\u201d in the months leading up to the murders, even throwing a birthday party for her children. The prosecutor said that while she <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/elon-musk-reinstates-twitter-accounts-of-babylon-bee-jordan-peterson-kathy-griffin-says-trump-decision-not-made-yet\/\" title=\"Elon Musk Rein...s Twitter Accounts of  Babylon Bee, Jordan Peterson, Kathy Griffin, Says Trump Decision Not Made Yet\">told close family members<\/a> about thoughts of harming her children, the mother did not tell therapists or healthcare providers about hallucinations leading up to the killings. Even with her psychologist, Clancy denied wanting to hurt anyone else, denied voices, denied having visual hallucinations, and showed no signs of psychosis, Sprague said. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWho she didn\u2019t tell is important and very telling,\u201d Sprague said. \u201cThat\u2019s a rational thought. That telling mandated reporters that you\u2019re having a thought of harming your kids, that they might be taken away for their safety. That\u2019s a rational thought. \u2026 You know that she knew the difference between right and wrong during that time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sprague said the motive in the killings came down to giving Clancy a way out of her depression.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThose kids were her protective factor, they were keeping her from ending her misery,\u201d the prosecutor said. \u201cSo she had to remove the protective factor, and I\u2019m not saying she was happy about it. I\u2019m saying it was what she had to do to end her misery. It was choice.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Closing arguments end in Lindsay Clancy trial; jurors to decide her responsibility<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3142,"featured_media":2650594,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP26238583349951.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[9832,10401,4853],"class_list":["post-2650593","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-homicide","tag-prosecution","tag-trial"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP26238583349951.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2650593","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3142"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2650593"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2650593\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2650598,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2650593\/revisions\/2650598"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2650594"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2650593"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2650593"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2650593"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}